Constitution Day Resources

Sept. 17 is recognized in the United States as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. The purpose of this day is to commemorate the creation and signing of the supreme law of the land and to honor and celebrate the privileges and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship for both native-born and naturalized citizens. Federal law requires that all schools receiving federal funds hold an educational program for their students on Constitution Day each year. In addition, judges are encouraged to make statements from the bench about the importance of understanding and appreciating the nation's founding document, and lawyers are encouraged to present information to student and community groups. This site provides links to resources designed to help in the presentation of Constitution Day concepts.

LESSON PLANS & ACTIVITIES

ABA Division for Public Education
Offers resources for a range of law-related education initiatives, including Law Day, understanding the rule of law, key U.S. Supreme Court cases, independence of the judicary, resources for teachers and civics for military members.

American Board of Trial Advocates Foundation
Provides free lesson plans for teachers through its online websites ABOTA Civics and Justice by the People.

Bill of Rights Institute
Provides Constitution Day resources for elementary, middle and high school students and a Constitution Day Live program on Sept. 17.

Center for Civic Education
Offers lesson plans, teacher training and information about community-based civics programs.

Civics Renewal Network
A partnership of 26 organizations dedicated to increasing the quality of civics education in the schools and improving accessibility to high-quality, no-cost learning materials. Resources are searchable by subject, grade, type, standards and teaching strategy.

Constitution Day
Offers lesson plans and other resources, including books and DVDs for sale.

Constitution Facts
Offers a range of resources about the U.S. Constitution.

Federal Judicial Center
Provides curriculum for civic education about the courts and teaching judicial history.

Jack Miller Center for Teaching America's Founding Principles and History
Provides resources for Constitution Day for K-12 and college level classrooms.

Journalism Education Association
Offers lesson plans and activities curated by the association's Scholastic Press Rights Committee to help students learn how to exercise their First Amendment rights.

National Archives
Provides primary sources and teaching activities for Constitution Day as well as professional development for educators.

National Constitution Center
Offers resources through its Constitution Day website, a tool kit for the nation's founding documents and lesson plans through its Constitution 101 Curriculum website.

Share My Lesson
Resource from the American Federation of Teachers that allows teachers to share lesson plans. Account set up required.

Teach Democracy
Provides lesson plans for teachers and civics, law and government programs for students. Formerly the Constitutional Rights Foundation.

U.S. Department of Education
Each educational institution that receives federal funds is required to hold an educational program about the U.S. Constitution for its students on Sept. 17. The department's website provides classroom resources by grade.

OTHER RESOURCES

A number of groups offer citizenship resources and applications designed for use on mobile devices to help young people understand the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Download them at the links below:

U.S. Constitution

Constitution Annotated
The U.S. Senate, Library of Congress and the Government Printing Office (GPO) offer a free service called Constitution Annotated, which allows users to access the nation’s founding document as well as modern analysis and interpretation of constitutional law, and analysis of Supreme Court cases by the Congressional Research Service and the Library of Congress. The service will be updated as new court decisions are issued. Visit the GPO site or the Library of Congress site for an online version.

U.S. Constitution
Search the U.S. Constitution, Articles of Confederation, Declaration of Independence, Emancipation Proclamation and more on this app from Google Play. Options also available for iPhone from the App Store.

iCivics
iCivics prepares young Americans to become knowledgeable, engaged citizens by providing free and innovative educational materials. The program, founded by retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, offers educational games as well as teaching materials. Two games specifically focus on the U.S. Constitution: Constitutional Compromise, which helps students find a way forward for a young nation as they engage in the ideas discussed at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 (available from Google Play and the App Store), and Race to Ratify, which helps students dive into the heated national debate over ratification of the founding document (available from Google Play).

U.S. Congress

Congress.gov
The official site of the U.S Congress offers information on current legislative activity, an explanation of the legislative process, bill summaries and more. Get more information specific to the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate at these links.

Member Guide for Congress
The Government Printing Office maintains a member guide, which features pictures, party affiliation and biographical data about members of the U.S. House and Senate. Users can browse members of Congress by last name, state, chamber or party. The U.S. Congress also offers a searchable database of members.

Citizenship Resources

U.S. Citizenship
Test your civic knowledge with flash cards and practice quizzes used by many to prepare for the U.S. naturalization test with this app from the App Store. Several options also are available from Google Play.

U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court
Official site of the U.S. Supreme Court. Access court decisions, biographical information for the justices, history of the court, activities and more.

SCOTUSblog
Offers news and analysis of U.S. Supreme Court decisions on its website and on its app for Android phones.

White House Resources

White House
Get news from the current White House blog and press briefing room. Access archived sites from recent previous administrations here.

White House Experience
Created by the White House Historical Society, this app offers tours of the Executive Mansion, including an intimate, room-by-room virtual experience of the White House and a guided walking tour around the president's neighborhood for people visiting Washington, D.C. Download from the Apple store or Google Play.

CIVIC EDUCATION PROGRAMS FROM THE TBA

The Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) hosts the Tennessee High School Mock Trial Competition each year to provide high school students with an opportunity to learn about the law, court procedures and legal system. Each fall, the TBA develops a fictional case in which students play the roles of attorneys and witnesses. The case and competition rules are distributed in November. Schools and other youth organizations form teams to compete in local district competitions that take place in February. The winners of the district contests then advance to the state competition, which takes place each March. TBA volunteers organize, host and score the state competition. There are 13 districts in the state, each of which are organized by a local coordinator, who sets the dates for the event and serves as a resource for teams. The winner of the state competition then travels to the National High School Mock Trial Competition to complete against teams from across the nation.

The TBA previously partnered with Lipscomb University in Nashville to provide a weeklong residential Law Camp during the summer for high school students from across the country. Students learned about various aspects of the legal profession during their time on campus. The experience offered networking opportunities with attorneys, lobbyists, elected officials, law enforcement and corporate executives; an opportunity to explore sports and entertainment law, healthcare law, social justice issues, the court system and the legislative process; and a chance to develop legal skills through a mock case. See reports from past events.

The TBA also previously housed the Youth Court program, which now operates as its own non-profit. In Tennessee, Youth Courts hear juvenile cases involving assault, burglary, vandalism, forgery, cruelty to animals, harassment, unauthorized use of a vehicle, disorderly conduct, runaway, violation of curfew, truancy, disorderly conduct, some traffic offenses and criminal trespass. Each court typically handles cases involving young people, ages 11 to 17, who are first-time offenders. For the youth who volunteer to serve on the court, the program educates them about the role of law in our democracy. They also learn about court procedures, sentencing options, trial techniques, structure of the justice system, the meaning of justice, and the relationship between rights and responsibilities.

This information is offered as a service to the public and the legal community. Statements or opinions expressed by any of the companies or organizations cited do not necessarily reflect those of the Tennessee Bar Association, its officers, board or staff. The TBA does not directly or impliedly endorse, support or vouch for the authenticity of any representations made.